Needle polishing machine



March 13, 1934.

J. BAXTER ET AL NEEDLE POLISHING MACHINE Filed July 6, 1955 FIG].

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwvem/bozs James Baxter ana William Tzjvendale March 1934- J. BAXTER ET AL NEEDLE POLISHING MACHINE Filed July 6, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 d n ma r 3 Q m J Millziam flvendale atbozyuew March 13, BAXTER ET NEEDLE POLISHING MACHINE Filed July 6, 1933 3 Sheets-'I-Sheet 3 G Hro weg/ James Baxter and William ZL'I/endaZe n 4 4 n fl llllllblllllllllnlllll IIIFII W4 2 Q n n n I u n u. u n n W u n uFmmw iwmmmwwmmm nmmxh n n n I n 4 Zr n 7 G I h F u u W M n. n n 3. u u m n n F NEEDLE POLISHING MACHINE James Baxter, Glasgow, and William Tivendale, Clydebank, Scotland, assignors to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 6, 1933, Serial No. 679,162 In Great Britain July 8, 1932 6 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for automatically polishing needles, particularly sewing machine needles, after they have been subjected to the usual operations performed in the manufacture of these needles.

A machine according to the invention comprises at least one polishing head including a rotatable polishing element which in operation is displaced axially and transversely whereby to traverse the needles along paths oblique to the needles and along paths normal to the needles.

In practice, the needles to be polished are presented to the polishing element in batches each carried by a clamp, which may be mounted on a travelling member, for example an intermittently rotatable turret which may be disposed centrally of a group of polishing heads and by the movement of which the clamps are successively shifted into operative relation with polishing elements.

The invention is concerned particularly with a construction of polishing head.

The polishing element may be constituted by a wire brush of general cylindrical form, the free ends of the wire bristles being located on the surface of an imaginary cylinder having a horizontal axis, the brush being rotated at relatively high speed about said axis. For the brushing operation there is applied to the bristles abrasive, e. g., emery flour, suspended in oil. The suspension is contained in a bath unitary with a hooded casing presenting bearings in which the brush spindle is journalled.

To efiect the automatic application of abrasive to the bristles and stir the suspension so as to prevent the abrasive from settling out, there is provided a scoop which operates within the bath and to which there are imparted movements causing the scoop to dip into and to move along the bath and in each movement to dose the brush. The scoop may be formed with slots or orifices suitably shaped to promote its agitating action on the suspension.

Axial and transverse movements are imparted to the brush and its supporting structure by suitable cam devices, the relative movement of the brush and the needles thus approximating to that efiected when the needles are moved for polishing by hand.

A cam device is provided for imparting slight vertical movement to the brush so that the brush may be moved vertically out of contact with the needles.

The cam devices which impart bodily movements to the brush'aiford an intermediate dwell 55 in each cycle, the first being effected at about the mid-point of the cycle concomitantly with the vertical movement of the brush away from the needles, and being of such duration as to permit cooling of the needles. On completion of the cycle a second dwell takes place during which the batch of needles is inverted to bring the opposite side of the batch into position for presentation to the brush in the succeeding cycle.

A polishing head constructed in accordance with the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2 a part elevation part vertical section at right angles to Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a plan view and Fig. 4 an elevation showing the head-actuating mechanism; Figs. 5 and 6 are a fragmentary plan and an elevation, respectively, of the needle carrier clamp; Figs. '7 and 8 are diagrams showing the path of the brush during the first and second half-cycles of operation, respectively, thereof.

The polishing head shown comprises a cylindrical brush 1 mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis within a housing including a casing 2 and a hood 3 so formed as to present an elongated opening 4 adapted to permit the brush 1 to act on a batch of needles 5 gripped in a clamp 45 on a movable needle carrier element. The hood 3 is hinged at 6 to the casing 2 so that it may be swung upwardly to afford access to the brush 1 and to the casing 2, being normally secured to the casing 2 by bolts? fitted with lever nuts 8. The brush 1 is secured on a horizontal spindle 9 journalled in end bearings 10 mounted in brackets 11 unitary with the casing 2, the spindle 9 being provided at one end, externally of the housing 2, 3, with a driving pulley 9' wrapped by driving belts 9 The brush housing 2, 3 is carried by a slide 12 movable to displace the brush transversely of its axis in a horizontal plane upon a guide 13 constituting the top of a table structure 14. For imparting motion to the slide 12 there is provided below the table structure 14 a rotary grooved cam cylinder 15 with which cooperates a follower 16 on the slide 12, the cam 15 being secured on a shaft 28 journalled for rotation below the table structure 14.

The brush 1 is also movable axially, the housing 2, 3 being attached to a rack 17 slidable end- Wise to impart axial movement to the brush in bearings 18 upstanding from the slide 12. The rack 17 is engaged by a toothed segment 19 on the upper end of a lever 20 pivoted at 21 and unitary with arms 22, 23 provided with followers brush 1.

24, cooperating with cams 26, 27, respectively, secured on the shaft 28. For attachment to the rack 17 the housing 2, 3 is provided rearwardly of the brush 1 with a boss 29 penetrated by the rack 17 which extends parallel to the axis of the brush and is spaced a considerable distance to the rear thereof. The housing 2, 3 is supported directly below the brush 1 on a row of ball-bearings 30 located in a raceway 31 secured to the underside of the casing 2 and extending parallel to the axis of the brush 1. The bearings 39 engage a cooperative race 32 carried on the forward end of a lever 33 pivoted at its rear end at 34 to the slide 12. lldjustably fitted to the front end of the lever 33 is a set-pin 35 the lower end of which is engaged by the upper end of a cam-actuated vertical tappet 36 carried by the slide 12 and adapted to impart slight vertical movement to the brush 1 about the axis of the rack 17 for the purpose of lowering the brush clear of the needles at predetermined intervals. The lower end of the tappet 36 is engaged by a lever 37 pivoted at 38 to the table structure 14 and functioning a follower co-operative with a cam 39 secured on the shaft 28.

The casing 2 is formed with a sump so for abrasive medium to be dosed on to the brush 1 by means of a scoop ele nent 41 which is moved through the abrasive into contact with the periphery of the brush 1, said scoop element by virtue of its movements preventing the abrasive from settling out. The scoop element ll is carried by a sickle-shaped lever l2 actuated by a crank 43 driven from the shaft 28 through the medium of bevel-wheel and belt gearing, the lever 42 being pivotally supported between its ends on a rock arm 44.

In use, one side of a batch of needles 5 is treated in two half-cycles of operation of the During the first half-cycle the brush as viewed in plan moves forwardly from the starting point A (Fig. 7) along a line B oblique to the needles, baclrwardly along a line C normal to the needles, forwardly along a line D oblique. to the needles, and backwardly to the starting point A along a line E normal to the needles.

At this stage the bodily movement of the brus. is arrested by means of dwells in the cams 15, 26,

27 for a predetermined interval of time during which the brush is lowered out of contact with the needles by the action of the cam 39, in order to allow the needles to cool on. At the termination of the needle cooling period the brush is raised by the cam 39 into re-engagement with the needle whereupon the second half-cycle of operation of the brush as depicted in Fig. 8 commences. As will be seen from Fig. 8, in the second halfcycle or" operation the brush 1 simply retraces in the reverse direction the path described in the first half-cycle (Fig. 7). At theend of the cycle the brush 1 is retracted by the slide 12 clear of the batch or" needles which is thereupon rotated through 180 to bring the opposite side of the batch into position for engagement by the brush in the succeeding cycle of operation thereof. As will readily be understood, the lines C, E represent axial movements only of the brush while the lines B, D are compounded of axial and transverse displacements of the brush.

The clamp 45 may be carried together with a plurality of similar clamps by a turret rotatable intermittently to bring the batches of needles in the several clamps successively into position for treatment by the brush 1. There may be grouped around the turret additional brushing heads, e. g., a head incorporating a hair brush and a head incorporating a mining device, which operate successively upon the batches of needles.

We claim:

l. A polishing head for needles, comprising a rotatable cylindrical polishing element, and means for imparting axial and transverse moveto said element whereby said element is caused to traverse the needles along paths oblique to the needles and along paths normal to the needles.

2. A needle-polishing device, comprising, in combination needle-holding means, a rotatable polishing element, means for imparting axial and transverse movements to said element whereby said element is caused to traverse the needles along paths oblique to the needles and along paths normal to the needles, and means includ ing a scoop for closing said elem nt intermittently with abrasive.

3. A needle-polishing device, comprising, in combination, needle-holding means, a rotatable cylindrical polishing element, and a slide carrying said element, cam acting on said slide to impart movements to said element and cam means for effecting axial movement oi said element.

l. A needle-polishing device, comprising, in

combination needle-holding means, a rotatable cylindrical polishing element, a hooded casing in which said element is journalled, said casing presenting a sump for abrasive, a slide carrying said element, a rack mounted on said slide for.

movement transverse to said slide, said rck at tached to said element, and cam means acting on said slide and said rack and to impart axial and transverse movement to said element whereby said element is caused to traverse the needles along paths oblique to the needles and along paths normal to the needles.

5. A needle-polishing device, comprising, in combination, needle-holding means, a rotatable cylindrical polishing element, means for imparting axial and transverse movement to said element whereby said element is caused to traverse the needles along paths oblique to the needles and along paths normal to the needles, and cam.

means for effecting vertical movement cfsaid element away from the needles.

6. A needle-polishing device, comprising, in combination, needle-holding means, a rotatable cylindrical polishing element, and means operative on said element in half-cycles with an intermediate dwell for imparting axial and transverse movement to said element whereby said element is caused to traverse the needles along paths oblique to the needles and along paths normal to the needles.

JAMES BAXTER. WILLIAM TIVENDALE.

Ill) 

